Sofitel Metropole
Hanoi, Vietnam
Grand, gracious and graceful – Hanoi’s favourite hotel tickles the pleasure receptors and draws an eclectic crowd
If you love big hotels, you’ll fall head over heels for this
grand dame of French colonialism. It's one of Asia’s finest
– as good as the city in which it stands – and its
enormous central courtyard holds gardens, swimming pool,
restaurants and a bar: the best place in town for cocktails before
supper. Flaming torches flicker in the night, uniformed waiters
swoop with martinis… even the stoniest heart will know a
moment’s happiness here.
Bedrooms may not be the strongest suit, not because their
colonial delights fail to seduce – far from it – but
merely because you are away for the glitter and gossip. Make sure
you settle in for afternoon tea (there is a chocolate buffet of
epic proportions), while
Spices
Garden restaurant cooks up some of the best Asian food
you’ll ever eat. As for the ladies who run reception: huge
smiles, gorgeous uniforms and an eager willingness to help their
guests. It’s got all the right ingredients for a perfect
stay, and with the Hoan Kiem Lake right on your doorstep, you
couldn’t be better placed to explore downtown Hanoi.

Reviewed by Tom Bell
Last updated
23 February 2010
Highs
- The chocolate buffet at afternoon tea is unmissable
- There are bells by pool loungers with which to summons a waiter
- Delicious food, the best we tasted in Vietnam
- Hanoi, a yard of Vietnam’s finest cloth and one of Indochina’s great cities
Lows
- Standard bedrooms don’t have quite the flair you expect of them
- It’s a big hotel and breakfast can get very busy
- You get ¾-size bath tubs in the some of the less expensive rooms
This glam grande dame has welcomed everyone from heads of state to eminent writers...
The Sunday Times Travel MagazineSofitel Metropole: Read more press reviews






























